Labor groups yesterday accused the Council of Labor Affairs of dragging its feet on raising the monthly minimum wage, even as the agency said it would hold talks to discuss the issue this year.
The Youth Labor Union 95 repeated its call for a minimum wage adjustment meeting to take place as soon as possible and an upward adjustment of NT$2,420 per month — from the current minimum wage of NT$17,280 per month to at least NT$19,700.
“President Ma [Ying-jeou, 馬英九] and the Executive Yuan have always emphasized the importance of an economy built by the common people, but we have seen the Executive Yuan and the council repeatedly delay minimum wage talks,” the group said in a statement.
The minimum wage was last adjusted in 2007.
Liu Yu-hsueh (劉侑學), an executive member of Youth Labor Union 95, said that although many people make more than the minimum wage, an upward adjustment would nevertheless benefit all workers because it is a signal to employers that it is time to raise wages.
“Taking into consideration the rise in the consumer price index and increased productivity in the manufacturing sector, the minimum wage should be raised by 14 percent,” Liu said.
The group also proposed increasing the minimum hourly wage from NT$95 to NT$115, or about 21 percent.
Last month, the council sent a proposal to the Executive Yuan to change the way the minimum wage adjustment meetings are held.
Labor groups said they suspected the government was delaying the annual minimum wage talks on purpose, because even after the council’s proposal is approved, there would still be many steps to complete before the committee can start talks on the minimum wage, such as deciding who would represent each side in the committee.
The council’s proposal calls for the composition of the minimum wage committee to be changed by decreasing the level of government representation to allow more representatives from labor, business and academia.
The move follows criticism that the government gave its own officials a majority of the seats on the committee.
Although the council is not legally bound to hold a minimum wage adjustment meeting every year, it has generally held the meeting every July.
The council has remained tight-lipped about when this year’s wage talks will be held.
Council of Labor Affairs Vice Minister Pan Shih-wei (潘世偉) said the meeting would “definitely” take place this year.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS